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Old Jan 17, 2014, 10:01 AM
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Rand. Rand. is offline
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Member Since: Feb 2013
Location: Canada
Posts: 441
MBTI is a very misunderstood personality theory.
MBTI is based off of Jungian theory which is all about cognitive functions. The problem with a lot of these tests is they don't try to figure out how your brain thinks (the cognitive functions), but more on what kind of behaviors you have which isn't what the system is about so the tests you find online end up not having a high accuracy rate. Likewise, the MBTI "profiles" that go with these tests are about behaviours which is again, hit and miss. So someone who really is an ISFP might not look very much like their ISFP profile. So in short, MBTI is really about how you think, how you perceive the world, how you give and take information, not so much about behaviors. There are likely behaviors for these functions (which is what online tests and profiles are based off of), but that's all it is - likely behaviors. The four letters you see are actually a code to what these cognitive functions are. It isn't that this person is Introverted, sensing, feeling and perceiving, ISFP REALLY means Introverted feeling, extroverted sensing, introverted intuition, extroverted thinking in that order.

Anyways you'll see some correlation. Like Histrionic PD probably won't be too common for an INTP, but you might very well find an INTP Schizotypal PD. But the others already touched on that pretty well.
I'd also like to add in that in MBTI no one person is 100% anything so one ENTJ will be more extroverted than another and so on. Types are only one small aspect that makes a person.

Someone who is extremely introverted might not have a PD just like someone who is extremely extroverted might not. The thing about the diagnosis, that I've understood, is that something about this person has become such a way so that it hurts the person or those around them, or it causes a deal of distress for the person or those around them. I'll use myself as an example. I believe I've been diagnosed with Schizoid PD (not 100% sure but it fits fairly well, might also be something else but I digress). I'm also an ISTP and it fits pretty well. It's kind of like two of the many pieces that make up the person "me". The thing about the diagnosis is that it actually does cause distress in my life and those around me. I feel the need to be alone all the time, but my family and friends don't want that - they actually want to be around me. That's going beyond introversion, because introverts still need and desire to be with other people, it just looks different than extroverts. But that doesn't mean I'm not an ISTP either. That's what I have understood anyways? But someone correct me if I'm wrong on this one.